Fame & fortune: Dame Emily Napier

The wild child owner of Loughcrew House has been restoring the mansion for 20 years and finds it a constant battle to keep the place standing

Napier had to think up creative ways of raising income to maintain Loughcrew House

D
ame Emily Naper grew up in West Wycombe Park, a Palladian mansion in England
popular as a setting for costume dramas. Sir Francis Dashwood, an ancestor
of her father, founded the notorious Hellfire Club for high society
revellers of the 18th century.

And Dame Emily, 53, has herself led a life full of adventures. At 17, she ran
away to Australia, then moved to Paris. She lived as a punk in 1970s London,
sharing a flat with Isabella Blow, the fashion muse. After meeting Charles
Naper, she moved to Ireland, and married him in 1981.

Her husband had been living in the orangery of a run-down Georgian pile in Co
Meath. Since their marriage, Naper has struggled with the curse of many
aristocrats — throwing money at crumbling estates.

She has pursued a slew of projects to finance the revival of Loughcrew House
and its grounds, which feature the ruins of